Violent offence

Filed Under: Criminal Law

1 definition found for this term.
Definitions are presented in the order source books were published (most recent first).

In 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada held that this is “an offence in the commission of which a young person causes, attempts to cause or threatens to cause bodily harm” (R. v. C.D., 2005 SCC 78); this approach excluded offences like dangerous driving, where a youth endangered public safety but the intent to cause harm was not proven. The 2012 amendments expanded the concept of violent offence to include offences where the youth endangers the life or safety of another, even if there is no intent to cause harm. The fact that a youth is charged with a violent offence means that the youth may be eligible for pre-trial detention or custody, and even if it is a first offence, there is no presumption of use of extrajudicial sanctions. 

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